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Tagum CityCatholicEst. 1967
A Catholic diocesan school on Seminary Drive in Tagum City, run by the Congregation of the Schools of Charity, the Cavanis Fathers. It opened in June 1967 as the boys' department of Saint Mary's College, took the Letran name in 1987, and now forms students from nursery to senior high.
The Letran de Davao seal. The school opened in June 1967 and was renamed Letran de Davao, Inc. on 16 June 1987.
01 Foundation
Letran de Davao began as a boys' high school with a seminary purpose. The story runs from a bishop's proposal in 1965 to a government recognition in 1976.
As early as 1965, Bishop Joseph W. Regan, M.M., the Roman Catholic Bishop of Tagum, proposed to the young Magugpo parish a high school for boys in the diocese, intended for students who aspired to enter the seminary. The cause drew young families and generous donors. Mr. and Mrs. Florencio Domingo and Dr. and Dra. Nicolas Ostrea donated land for both the school and the seminary, the Queen of Apostles Seminary, which took in first year high school applicants from neighboring parishes.
With the seminary running, the Bishop negotiated with Rev. Mother Rufita Jardin, R.V.M., the Directress of Saint Mary's College, to open a boys' high school using the temporary permit of Saint Mary's College. Saint Mary's College became an exclusive high school for girls, and the new school, named Saint Mary's College Boys Department, became the exclusive high school for boys.
The school formally opened in June 1967, adopting all of the first to fourth year high school boys of Saint Mary's College. In June 1974 the school applied for a government permit and was issued Temporary Permit No. 261, s. 1975. A year later it was granted Government Recognition No. 114, s. 1976, issued on 17 June 1976 by the Department of Education and Culture in Manila.
Saint Mary's College became the school for girls, and the new Saint Mary's College Boys Department became the school for boys.
02 Stewardship
The school changed hands more than once, and it took its present name in the middle of that journey. Here is how the stewardship moved, and why the school is called Letran.
The school opens as Saint Mary's College Boys Department under the Bishop of Tagum and adopts the boys of Saint Mary's College.
Under Fr. Jerry R. Manlangit, O.P., the school reconsiders its name. Saint Mary's School for Boys was often mistaken for the girls' college, and the school was institutionally related to the Letran chain. On 16 June 1987 it becomes Letran de Davao, Inc.
Administration passes to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and the school keeps the Letran name it took in 1987.
From school year 2001 to 2002 the school is managed by Fr. Fernando S. Fietta, c.sch, of the Congregation of the Schools of Charity. With Italian benefactors he undertakes a campus makeover and establishes the Cavanis Scholarship for needy and deserving students.
In 1987 the school was renamed for its institutional link to the Letran chain of schools. The name has stayed through every change in administration since.
03 Formation
The school grew from a boys' high school into a full basic education campus. Grade school was added in 2006, the school became coeducational in school year 2004 to 2005, and Senior High opened in school year 2016 to 2017.
Humanities and Social Sciences, for students eyeing law, education, communication, and the social sciences.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, for students heading into engineering, health, and the sciences.
Accountancy, Business and Management, for students preparing for business, accounting, and management courses.
Today the school enrolls about 1,123 students, with 829 in high school and 45 faculty. Class sizes and sections can change each school year, so confirm the current offerings with the registrar.
04 At a glance
The facts that families, alumni, and suppliers ask for, gathered from the school's own listings and the Diocese of Tagum directory.
05 Sister campus
The Letran de Davao name also covers a second campus in Maco, Davao de Oro, which carries its own history under the same banner.
Letran de Davao of Maco, Inc. began as Maryknoll High School of Maco, founded in 1964 by the Maryknoll Fathers John Lennon, M.M., and Charles McHugh, M.M., with Bishop Joseph W. Regan, M.M. Rev. Fr. Fred Crispo, M.M., served as the first director.
It sits at Purok 8, Poblacion, Maco, Davao de Oro, and the Maryknoll Fathers entrusted it to the Sisters of Mary of the Assumption from school year 1964 to 1965.
In school year 1988 to 1989 the Dominican Fathers took over under Fr. Jerry R. Manlangit, O.P., and the school was renamed Letran de Davao of Maco, Inc. School year 1993 to 1994 saw management pass to the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines.
Both campuses, Tagum and Maco, sit within the Diocese of Tagum.
06 The Letran name
The 1987 rename tied Letran de Davao to the wider Letran family of schools in the Philippines. The oldest of these sits in Intramuros, Manila.
The original Letran campus at 151 Muralla Street in Intramuros, Manila, is one of the oldest schools in the country. It anchors the Letran name that Letran de Davao borrowed when it renamed in 1987.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba in Bucal, Calamba City, Laguna, is a sister campus of the Letran chain and carries the same name and traditions.
Letran de Davao kept the Letran name after the Dominican years and is now a diocesan school run by the Cavanis Fathers in Tagum City.
07 Visiting
The campus stands on Seminary Drive beside the Queen of Apostles College Seminary. Office hours run Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and can change with the school calendar, so call ahead before you travel.
08 Answers
It was proposed in 1965 by Bishop Joseph W. Regan, M.M., and formally opened in June 1967 as Saint Mary's College Boys Department. It was renamed Letran de Davao, Inc. on 16 June 1987.
It is a private Catholic diocesan school in Tagum City, run by the Congregation of the Schools of Charity, the Cavanis Fathers, and it serves students from nursery to senior high.
In 1987, while under Dominican administration, the school was renamed for its institutional link to the Letran chain of schools. The name stayed after administration passed to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and then to the Cavanis Fathers.
The school runs nursery, kindergarten, primary, elementary, and junior high, plus Senior High, which opened in school year 2016 to 2017 with three strands: HUMMS, STEM, and ABM.
Yes. The school began as an exclusive high school for boys and became coeducational in school year 2004 to 2005, when it started accepting female students. Grade school was added in 2006.
It is at Seminary Drive, Barangay Magugpo West, 8100 Tagum City, Davao del Norte, beside the Queen of Apostles College Seminary. Call (084) 655-6158, (084) 400-1027, or 0975 505 6729, or email phil_cavanis@yahoo.com.
Yes. Letran de Davao of Maco, formerly Maryknoll High School of Maco, was founded in 1964 and took the Letran de Davao name in school year 1988 to 1989. It sits at Purok 8, Poblacion, Maco, Davao de Oro.
While managing the school from school year 2001 to 2002, Fr. Fernando S. Fietta, c.sch, and Italian benefactors established the Cavanis Scholarship for needy and deserving students, alongside a campus makeover. Ask the registrar for the current scholarship terms.
Compiled from the school's own listings on Facebook, the Diocese of Tagum directory, the UCA News diocesan directory, the Infinit learning management system school list, and the published school histories on Scribd. Enrollment and leadership figures reflect those listings and can change each school year, so confirm the current details with the registrar.
We print school uniforms, PE sets, intramurals shirts, and organization jerseys in Tagum City with official BIR invoices. Send us your design or the school's specification and we will quote it. See our uniforms page for fabric and ordering details.
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